2025-04-04
The U.S. House Financial Services
Committee advanced a major stablecoin bill on Apri 2, 2025, pushing federal
regulation of the fast-growing digital asset sector one step closer to reality.
But the vote came with sharp Democratic
warnings over former President Donald Trump’s direct business involvement in
the crypto space.
After a lengthy session filled with
amendment debates, six Democrats joined 26 Republicans to move the Stablecoin
Transparency and Accountability for a Better Ledger Economy (STABLE) Act
forward.
The vote follows similar progress in
the Senate, raising the prospect of a unified bill being finalized later this
year, potentially by August, a target backed by Trump and GOP lawmakers.
While the bill earned bipartisan
backing, it also ignited a fierce political clash over potential conflicts of
interest tied to Trump’s crypto ventures.
Just last week, World Liberty Financial
(WLFI), a firm linked to Trump, launched its own stablecoin dubbed USD1.
Trump has also been active in the
sector through NFT sales and promoting the memecoin $TRUMP, all while
advocating for crypto-friendly policies.
Democrats warned that Trump’s unique
role as a stablecoin issuer and a political figure with influence over
financial regulators poses an unprecedented ethical risk.
“Trump has leveraged the presidency to
push crypto schemes that enrich himself and his family,” said Rep. Maxine
Waters (D-CA).
The committee’s ranking Democrat. Rep.
Stephen Lynch (D-MA) added, “If this were a Democratic president, Republicans
would be outraged — and they’d be right.”
Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL) raised concerns
over foreign influence, citing tens of millions reportedly invested into WLFI
by Tron’s Justin Sun, suggesting possible hidden foreign leverage over U.S.
digital currency development.
Despite the outcry, GOP lawmakers
dismissed the conflict concerns. Committee Chair French Hill (R-AR) emphasized
the need for “guardrails, not roadblocks” and argued that innovation shouldn't
be stifled based on who the entrepreneurs are.
“We don’t discriminate on who gets to
participate in innovation,” Hill said. Republican members also rejected
Democratic amendments aimed at restricting presidential influence in crypto
regulation, calling them “unnecessary.”
Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-MI) highlighted
the bill’s deference to state regulators as a “lighter-touch” approach and said
the administration is positioned to embrace this regulatory shift.
Alongside the stablecoin bill, the
committee reviewed other crypto-related legislation, including a proposal to
form a law-enforcement coalition to combat illicit crypto use and a measure to
ban a U.S.-issued central bank digital currency (CBDC).
Wednesday’s session saw dozens of
failed amendments, prompting Rep. Lynch to quip that the committee may have set
a record for most failed votes in a row.
As both the House and Senate push
forward with stablecoin frameworks, the debate is increasingly shaped by not
just technical details, but political entanglements and questions of ethical
oversight at the highest levels.
